Fire-escape



' (No Model.)

-E. W. FIEGENBAUM.

FIRE ESCAPE.

o. 314,287. Patented Mar. 24, 1885.-

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VQEMW Nrren STATES EDWARD FIEGENBAUM, OF EDWARDSVILLE, ILLINOIS.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 314,287, dated Llareh 24, 1885.

Application filed January 28, i894. Renewed January 31, 1985. (No lllfllil'i.)

T0 (LZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD W. FIEGEN- BAUM, of Edwardsville, Illinois, have made a new and useful Improvement in Fire Escapes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a view in perspective showing the improvementin position for use, the view being one looking upward toward the floor from which the escape is letdown; Fig. 2, a plan showing that portion of the door to which the escape is attached; Fig. 3, a vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4., a vertical section on the'line 4 4. of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 a view in perspective showing a portion of the ladder.

The same letters of reference denote the same parts.

A represents an upper door in a building. The floor is of the ordinary description, consisting, substantially, of the usual joists, cm, the flooring-boards a, and the ceiling a.

B represents a ladder, which at its upper end is secured to the floor A in any manner, and which is adapted to be inclosed in the space a in the floor between the joists a a, substantially as shown in Fig. 3, and when thus inclosed it is upheld by means of the door 0, and is covered by the trap-door D.

To enable the trap-door to be readily removed'and put out of the way when it is desired to reach the ladder, it is preferably not hinged to the lloor,but made so that it can be lifted entirely out of its place therein. The door 0 is preferably hinged, as at c, to the floor A, and when supporting the ladder, as in Fig. 3, it is upheld by means of the hook E. This hook in turn extends upward, and its point e is held against the bevel a of the joists a by means of the trapdoor D. When it isdesired to use the escape,the trap-door is removed. This leaves the point of the hook E free. The weight of the ladder uponthe floor G then operates to cause the hook to slip from its bearing upon the joists and the door 0 to open downward. The ladder then unfolds and drops to the floor F below, as shown in Fig. 1. A person then can descend through the opening thus made in the upper floor, A, onto the ladder, and then by means of the ladder can pass downward to the lower floor. The ladder is preferably in the form of a ropeladder, made preferably as indicated in Figs. 1, '3, 4, 5, and it is preferably secured to the upper floor by extending its upper round, 13, and allowing its ends to drop into recesses G G in the floor-joists, or boards fastened to the floor-joists.

The improvement can be introduced into any suitable part of an upper floor, either into the floor of a room or into the floor of an entry, or elsewhere.

When not in use, the device is entirely out of the way.

The upper floor can be used in the ordinary manner, and the ceiling underneath .where the ladder is supported-that is, the door 0 and surrounding parts-niay be finished in any desirable or ornamental manner; and when the device is brought into use a person can easily pass down through the opening in the floor onto the ladder, and thence to the floor below.

The ladder is preferably made of as light material as is practicable, in order that it shall in falling to the lower floor not cause injury to any person or thing in its way.

I elaim- 1. The combination of the floor Aand ladder B, the door (3, the hook E. and the door D, said hook being automatically released by the opening of the door I), substantially as described.

2. The combination of the floor A,the doors 0 and D, and the hook E, said hook being automatically released by the opening of the door D, as described.

EDWARD Vitnesses:

C. D. MooDY, O. E. HUNT.

XV. FIEGENBAUM. 

